10 G's A Week The Autobiography of E. Williams

10 G’$ A WEEK

THE E. WILLIAMS SAGA

By E. Williams

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10 G’s A Week: The E. Williams Saga

Copyright 2006 by E. Williams

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Copyright 2006 by M.S. Graphics

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ALSO AVAILABLE BY E.WILLIAMS

Chapter 1: The Beginning

The year was 1998 and I had dropped out of college about a year prior to then. Plus I’d just been fired from my dead-end-job at a tool supply company. Working at the tool supply company (and other companies I had worked for) really depressed me because I felt that I was working for basically nothing. It was hard for me to buy what I wanted because of the low wage I was earning. In order to for me to buy something that valued at or over $1,000, I had to save all my checks for over a month. That was a lot of saving just to buy a piece of shit car to get me back and forth to my second home, my job. I also had to save two or three checks just to buy myself a decent leather coat to wear for the winter, like a Pelle Pelle or something. Now that’s basically a month and a half of saving my checks, good thing I was young with no kids and didn’t have any important bills to pay.

For some older adults who I knew, it would’ve taken a lot longer than a month and a half of saving in order to buy what they desired: considering the fact that they had kids to clothe and feed, rent and mortgages to pay, plus gas and light bills to pay. But my point should be clear, it could’ve taken up to a year or better for them to save their money in order to buy one of the things they desired. I saw myself living the rest of my life just as they did; Always wanting and always saving. And by the time I saved the money, there might be a new version of what I wanted. Plus, if I had the old version on a lay-a-way plan then I just might’ve been forced into buying the old version because of some messed up store policy.

Growing up I had a certain style I carried myself in, and I wanted to keep my certain style for the rest of my life. But working my nine-to-five job wasn’t helping me. When I was a teenager I always kept a nice amount of money in my pocket, thanks to my father’s disability checks. My father basically lived the life that I didn’t want to live. He worked for Chrysler for twenty three years and actually retired early (as if twenty three years wasn’t long enough to work at one place) due to sickness that stemmed from a history of bad eating habits and bad working conditions. My father died at the early age of forty five.

The disability checks first came in around two years prior to his death. My father, mother and myself each received a check on the third of every month. My sister missed out because she was too old to receive benefits from our father’s disability. But I got mine, and my check was a little over $500 per month in the beginning. By the time I was cut off from the checks (after high school) it was up to around $700 per month. When the checks first started coming in I used to wonder, Why won’t my father let me have my check to myself? How come he only let me get a certain amount of money each month? Later on in life I realized the reason for his decision. But after his death my mother let me keep every penny of my check. I was seventeen years old, in the 12th grade, and had a decent monthly income. That one decision my mother made to give me my checks without any spending plan or budget could’ve possibly been the birth of my excessive spending and gambling habits, but I’m not really sure.

With my checks I gambled my way through my senior year along with two of my neighbors P and Low. P stayed two houses from me and we had been cool for years. We were about ten years old when we met Low, who stayed down the block from us. It wasn’t until high school when we all started hanging with each other. Me and Low liked to gamble, and our high school was the place where we gambled the most. We barely attended classes and were never on time for our first hour class. But I still earned my diploma, and between the three of us, I was the only one who graduated.

Now back to 1998. Right before I was fired I was approaching ninety days on the job. That meant if I got fired I could draw unemployment benefits, therefore my plan was clear. Get fired then collect unemployment. I decided to execute my plan right after I was turned down for a ten cent raise. After I was turned down for the raise I thought to myself, Almost ninety days and I can’t get a little ass ten cent raise? I come here every day, on time, and work hard as hell. So what’s my chance for advancement?

Unemployment wasn’t going to pay me as much as I was making while working, but I didn’t care. I had already saved up a couple of checks, plus I bought a car from an auction. I later sold the car for double what I paid and that was when I discovered I could sell cars as a hustle. So fuck this job. Selling cars was what I was going to do.

I went to work as normal but when I got there I didn’t do any work, and the next week I was fired for lack of performance. My plan worked out perfect, so one week after my termination I applied for unemployment and was approved. All I had to do was call Marvin every week and wait for my check to come.

As I was waiting for my unemployment check I was also waiting for my two car titles to come in the mail. In my waiting process I was able to make some extra money by playing blackjack at one of the casinos in Windsor, Ontario (Canada). That was how I bought the two cars. From Downtown Detroit I would take the tunnel that runs under the Detroit River and up to the Canadian border. From the border I would drive into Downtown Windsor then go to one of the casinos.

At the time there were two temporary casinos in Windsor. One was in a building structure and the other was on a boat. The building was my favorite because that’s where I won the most money. I would start off with $100 in American money, exchange my American money for Canadian money, then sit down at a blackjack table and play until I’d won enough. The down side about the money exchange was converting my Canadian money into American currency because $100 Canadian would get me around $60 American. So I would always keep that in mind while I was gambling and tried to win a extra hundred or two in order to keep the currency exchange balanced.

I won more money than I lost in Casino Windsor. I can recall the only times I would lose was when I took my girlfriend Tiff with me. She wasn’t a gambler at all. She’d go with me just to get out of the house then sit behind me and watch me play. Tiff felt as if we were actually going out for a night on the town when we went to the casino. She’d dress up in her Sunday’s best and spray some sweet smelling fragrance on her dark chocolate brown skin. Then she’d put on some high heel shoes to give her short and thick frame a little extra height. But after realizing I would lose only when she was present, I started leaving her at home.

There was a time when I lost my first $1,000 in Casino Windsor. It was a Friday and I had just sold my car for $1,100. That same night my cousin Dion Johnson came over and picked me up so he could get out of the house because he was tired of arguing with his wife. It seemed as if he always stopped by our house when he and his wife got into it, and I didn’t blame him. His wife seemed to be the violent type, and she was every bit of three and fifty pounds. Dion’s about half of her height and only one hundred and thirty pounds, so it was smart of him to come over our house.

That night we decided to go to the casino and like a fool I had all of my money in my pocket, plus to make matters worse we went to the boat. We basically went to the boat to get something to eat. They had the biggest baked potatoes you ever saw and the potatoes were actually too big for the plate. They were topped with anything you wanted from broccoli and cheese to ham, bacon, and sour cream.

I ordered my baked potato with cheese, bacon, broccoli and sour cream, plus a slice of cheesecake and a beverage. Dion had the same. After paying for the food we took our seats at one of the round tables that were about five feet away from the food line. If there was no room to sit, you might’ve had to go outside and sit on a bench to eat. Remember, this was a temporary casino therefore space was limited. It was almost impossible for me to eat all of my baked potato, but I managed to eat most of it and still found room for my cheesecake.

After eating we got up and started to walk to the casino floor, which was on the boat. Right outside of the eatery was the first check point. We showed our IDs to the guard then walked about fifty feet. Then we made a left turn down a hallway that was about two hundred feet long. On the weekends there was an additional guard standing there to check IDs again. After we passed him we made a right turn then up another two hundred foot hallway, and a left turn then fifty more feet, and finally we were on the casino floor.

I exchanged my American money for Canadian then sat at the first blackjack table I saw. I laid $200 on the table in exchange for $200 in casino chips. The table minimum was $10 per hand and that’s what I started out playing. I lasted about twenty five minutes before I started increasing my bets then revisited the cage for some more Canadian currency. That time I lasted about thirty five minutes before I was out of chips, so at that point I became upset and wanted to win my money back. I told the dealer to mark my spot then I went back to the cage. I exchanged almost all the money I had in my pocket then went back to the table with a $1,000 bill (they have $1,000 bills in Canada). The other players looked at me as if I had done something wrong and they all pulled their bets back.

I don’t want to get in the way, some of them said. Go ahead. We wish you good luck. Dion was sitting behind me with his eyes and mouth open as wide as they could possibly open.

What’s your problem?" I asked him.

Nothing, he answered while shaking his head. So I started to play the dealer one-on-one.

I was a little mad about the money I had lost and didn’t want to waste any time, therefore I started off playing $100 a hand. The dealer was kicking my ass right from the start. After twenty minutes of getting my ass kicked, I asked the other player to come back into the game in a attempt to change the cards to my favor. But it didn’t help. I left the table thirty minutes later with nothing and started the long walk back to the parking lot.

We stood in the parking lot that was located along the Detroit River and leaned on the fence. Dion was standing beside me with one arm on the fence while shaking his head at me in pity. As I stared into the river I had the worse feeling I had ever felt in my gambling career. My stomach was hurting and I felt nauseous while thinking to myself, How could I lose all the money I just made in the same day I made it? Twenty minutes passed as we were still standing there not saying anything to each other. Let’s go, I told Dion finally breaking the silence. Then we got in Dion’s car and drove to the tunnel.

At the tunnel I reached under the seat for the $2 I had placed there just in case we lost all of our money, we could still pay the toll. The ride home was long and quiet because neither of us had anything to say. Dion drove me straight to Tiff’s house and then he went home. Once Tiff’s doorbell opened the door for me I went inside and went straight to bed. Two hours later Dion had the audacity to call me complaining.

My wife and I are upset with you because it was late when I got home. I couldn’t believe he had the nerve to say some shit like that.

Are you fucking crazy? I asked. I just lost a thousand dollars and you saw it! Now you’re gonna call me with some shit like this? Fuck you and your fat-ass wife, and don’t call me no more! Click!

It was two weeks from the date that I filed my unemployment claim when the check finally came in the mail. I can’t remember how much it was, but when I got it I immediately went to the auto auction and bought a 1992 Chevy Lumina. The car was clean on the inside and outside but it turned out to be a lemon. It got me back and forth for about a week until one night it cut off on me while I was on Interstate 75 headed to the Marriott hotel to meet Tiff. After thirty minutes of being stranded I was finally able to get the car running again and made it to my destination.

Tiff and I stayed at the hotel for the weekend and to my surprise the car made it back home without any problems. Later on I found out the car had all kinds of electrical problems that were too costly for me to repair at the time. The cost of the repairs was around $700, so therefore I was now in a financial bind.

One day I was outside of my mother’s house looking at the Lumina as if I could fix it when Low and E. Bivins walked up. E. Bivins is another guy I grew up with who lived two houses away from Low. We both share the same first initial so to limit confusion everybody called me E. Williams and called him E. Bivins. We all talked about what was wrong with my car as E. Bivins stood there towering over me and Low while holding two bags of new clothes. He also had on brand new clothes which looked like he had just pulled the tags off of them before he got dressed. I noticed he was even wearing some new Gucci frames instead of his old black no-name frames which he wore every day.

For E. Bivins to be that fresh with no explanation was unusual but I paid it no more attention and we finished our conversation about my car. After the conversation was over they both walked toward their homes. The next day I was sitting on the porch when E. Bivins came walking down the block towards his house and he was fresh as hell again, all new shit. Plus he was carrying more bags in his hands. At that point I figured he must’ve won some money gambling or something, but the next day I knew it was something more to it.

I was talking with Low outside of his house when a cab pulled up and E. Bivins was in the back seat. He opened the door while reaching into his pocket, then pulled out a big roll of money and paid the cab driver. When he got out of the cab he was carrying more bags of new clothes, so I had to find out what was going on.

What are you doing every day? I asked him.

I’m fucking with this nigga on the eastside who got the hook-up at the bank, he nonchalantly answered. At that moment I wanted to know everything just in case I could get the hook-up too.

How did you meet this nigga?

My cousin Craig turned me on to him. I’ve been getting money every day and shopping for free. I asked him to tell me more about it and he did. The nigga from the eastside had me open a checking account at First Federal Bank. You know when you open a checking account you get a ATM card that works like a credit card? It’s got the Visa logo on it and everything. Well, anyway, I had to wait for the card to come in the mail and when it came I gave it to him along with the rest of my account information then it was on the next day. We split a thousand everyday and shopped with the debit card for a thousand, everyday!

I want to do it, I told him with no hesitation.

In order to open my checking account I needed $50 for the initial deposit. So I asked E. Bivins to loan me the fifty until I got on.

Okay, he agreed. But I want you to know when you do this I’m going to tax you.

Tax me for what?

Because when I did it I got taxed. So when you do it you’re getting taxed too. When you get the money you’ll have to give me a little cut, and when you shop I need to shop with you. The deal was cool with me so he gave me the $50 and I proceeded to walk to the First Federal Bank that was right around the corner from us.

As I was opening the account the bank representative told me about the debit card I would receive in seven to ten business days. Twenty minutes later she gave me a folder containing my account number, a receipt for my $50 deposit, and some brochures. Then she gave me a small blue cooler as a free gift to new customers. The first step in a plot that would change the rest of my life was taken, and I had around two weeks to wait until the plot unfolded. I even called my cousin Zeek (who they say looks just like me except darker) and told him about the hook-up because he was always interested in making some money. Plus I could tax him and make me a little bit of money too.

As I was waiting for my debit card to come, Low and E. Bivins all of a sudden came across a money order hook-up. Low asked me if he could use my address because he wanted to order some merchandise and have it shipped UPS to my house. He explained how he already had too many orders coming to his house so he needed another address.

I’ll help you but tell me where you’re getting the money orders from?

I met this new nigga name Tommy at Basketball City, Low explained. This nigga is smart as hell, he’s like a fucking genius. Tommy be printing out these money orders and he got about two hundred thousand worth right now.

I instantly joined the team, and it went good for almost two weeks. We spread the money orders all over the place by having people cash them at stores and banks, ordering merchandise from catalogs, and selling them to people for half of the amount that was printed on them. We didn’t make too much money because the money orders weren’t printed out for large amounts. Only $300 to $500. After we split what we made there wasn’t too much of a gain, but we did manage to accumulate a lot of merchandise out of the deal, like TVs, VCRs, and radios. E. Bivins even tried to place a down payment on a conversion van with some money orders but the salesman told him if he came back up there the police would be waiting for him. That was hilarious to us.

But it all came to an end when Tommy and Low called themselves going to the airport to buy some airline tickets with some money orders. They planned on returning the tickets the next day for a cash refund. I don’t know why the both of them couldn’t see how their plan was a disaster just waiting to happen, but they couldn’t see it. Both of them went to the airport but only Tommy returned.

Low got caught by airport security and was taken to jail. We all knew Low was in jail but later on that night he surprised us when he all of a sudden came home. Not even five minutes after he was home E. Bivins and I were at his side door.

How did you get out of jail? we both asked.

Man… Low answered as he shook his head from side-to-side. Don’t tell nobody but I told on Tommy.

What? E. Bivins and I both shouted.

Man, they made me show ’em where he lived then they kicked the door in and took everything he had in his house. Tommy wasn’t there but they got all his computers, printers, and money orders.

Why did you tell? I asked.

Man, because I was scared. They was gonna charge me with everything. E. Bivins and I both explain how dangerous the decision he made was, plus he could end up getting wacked behind what he did.

The three of us talked for a while then Low told us he was tired and wanted to go to bed. We all went into our separate homes and turned in for the night. The next morning, shortly after I awaken, I heard a knock on the door.

Who is it? I yelled as I walked to the door.

Tommy! the voice on the other side of the door answered. I opened the door and there he stood, looking nervous as hell.

I had never seen Tommy face-to-face because Low and E. Bivins were the two who dealt with him directly. I thought Tommy didn’t know where I lived so after I opened the door I wondered, How does this nigga know where I stay? I didn’t ask him anything, instead I just waited for him to start talking.

Have you seen Low? he asked.

Nope, I shook my head from side-to-side, last I heard he was in jail.

They bust my door down and took all my stuff. I haven’t heard from Low yet but if you see him tell him to call me.

Right after he finished saying what he had to say he started to walk up the street. I stood in the doorway and waited to see what car he was going to get in because there was no car parked in front of my house. But I never saw him get in any car. He kept walking until he was out of sight. After I could no longer see Tommy I started wondering what was going to happen with their situation. Then I looked at the mailbox and there was some mail poking out of it. I took the four pieces of mail out of the mailbox, flipped through them then saw a letter for me. I opened the letter and there it was, my debit card.

Chapter 2: Mack

As soon as I took my bank card out of the envelope I walked down the street to E. Bivins’ house. After I told him I had the card he called the Eastside nigga and told him I was ready. The Eastside nigga asked him if I had my pin number and I had forgotten all about the damn pin number. That meant I had to wait a couple more days before I could get started.

I went back home, sat on the porch, then started thinking about the things I was going to do with the money. I took a glance at my car and wondered how much could I sell it for after I fixed it? I came to the conclusion I would break even, considering the purchase price and the cost of repairs. Breaking even was cool with me, as long as I didn’t take another loss.

The next day I looked in the mailbox and discovered my pin number had come. I called E. Bivins and told him the news then he came over to get all the things he needed from me. Before he left he told me he was going to give my card and pin number to the Eastside nigga and we should be ready to start that next morning.

When the next morning came I was ready. The three of us planned to meet at 9:30 A.M. in the parking lot of the Belmont Plaza, which was right around the corner from us on 8 Mile Road. I was driving my father’s old car (a Lincoln Town Car) and as I was parking in the plaza the Eastside nigga called E. Bivins on his cell phone. He needed to speak to me so I took the phone and said, Hello. He asked me if I remembered my pin number because he had misplaced it and luckily I did. As I told him the number I thought to myself, I know his voice from somewhere. He slurred his words and sounded like he had a mouth full of saliva that needed to be swallowed. With a voice like that it could only be one person.

I think I know this nigga, I told E. Bivins after I got off the phone. What’s his name?"

His name is Mack, he answered.

That’s my mothafuckin’ cousin! Just to make sure I asked, He’s about my height, real dark, big ass stomach and a big ass nose, right?

Right.

What kind of car do Mack drive just to be double sure it’s him.

I really don’t know? Every time I see him he’s driving something different. You know how niggas with money do it.

Hell naw, that’s my cousin Mack. Call him back.

He called Mack back and told him I needed to talk to him. Then I took the phone.

Hello, is this Mack?

Yeah, what up?

This is your cousin E. Williams.

What up dog? Mack shouted. I didn’t know I was doing your account! I’ll be there in a minute!

We waited until Mack arrived, which was about twenty minutes later. While we were waiting I was thinking to myself, Damn, how come none of my other cousins didn’t tell me Mack was doing this? This changes everything. E. Bivins knew it changed everything also but I couldn’t tell if he was cool with, or upset about it. But one thing I could tell was he realized that my life and possibly his was about to change.

Mack pulled next to us in a new Ford Taurus then we both instantly started laughing as we rolled our windows down.

We’re going to the branch where you opened your account at, he instructed. Go in and withdraw eighteen hundred.

We both drove to the bank which was only one block away, parked in the parking lot, then I went inside and filled out a withdrawal slip. There were only two customers inside the bank at the time so when I got in line I was next. The bank teller called out, Next in line, then I walked over and handed her the withdrawal slip and my ID. We greeted each other by saying, How are you today, then she started typing in my account number.

How would you like it? she asked after she finished typing.

All hundreds please. I answered with a smile. She counted out eighteen one hundred dollar bills then placed them in a envelope along with my ID.

Have a nice day, she told me.

I went straight to Mack’s car and got in.

Let me get that, he said as he held out his hand. After I gave him the money he counted out $800 and handed it to me. At that moment I was a little confused.

I thought we were splitting this down the middle? I mentioned.

Nah, I have to pay somebody else who works with me a little something. I usually pay people five hundred dollars for doing this. I’m only paying you more because you’re my cousin.

The whole money exchange didn’t go down the way I was told it would go down, but at that time I didn’t care.

All right, what’s next? I asked.

We’re going shopping. What mall do you want to go to?

Let’s go to Northland Mall. I went to my car and paid E. Bivins $300 then we were on our way.

Once we arrived at the mall Mack handed me my debit card and told us not to take a long time in the stores. Just grab your size and pay for it. The first store we went into was Foot Locker. We walked up to the shoe display on the wall and took a look at what they had. The salesman came over and asked Mack if he needed any help?

Give me a pair of these, these, and a pair of those in a size eleven.

Let me get a pair of these white Adidas, E. Bivins shouted with the shoe in his hand. And those blue ones too, in a size twelve. I was still trying to decide what I wanted when E. Bivins blurted out, Just get something, we’ll be in here all day. When the salesman returned I picked whatever was nearest.

I want a pair of white Air Force Ones and those tan Lugz ya’ll got sitting right there, in a size eleven. They also had the tan Lugz warm up suit and T-shirt to match the shoes, so quickly I grabbed a set in my size and headed to the purchase counter. Mack and E. Bivins also grabbed some T-shirts to match their shoes then came over to the counter as well.

The girl who was working at the cash register started scanning the items and the total came out to be somewhere around $600. I gave her my ID and debit card then she glanced at my face and gave the ID back to me. She slid the card through the credit card machine then punched in the total. At that moment there was total silence.

The silence was broken when the credit card machine started to print out the receipt. It was like music to our ears. The cashier tore the receipt from the machine and handed it to me along with a pin. I signed it and we all asked for separate bags and were off to the next store.

The next store was Van Dyke’s, and once we entered the two girls who worked there both yelled out, What up Mack! I said to myself, This dude shop so much until they know him by name in here. We quickly picked out our items then stepped to the counter to make the purchase. The cashier rung up the items and the total came to be a little over $1,100. I handed her my debit card and ID then she swiped the card and we were all in silence again. The credit card machine sang it’s melody as it printed out the receipt. We all got our clothes in separate bags and were gone.

We decided to go to one more store to get some T-shirts then we were going to call it quits for the day because we were reaching our spending limit. We went into Champs shoe store so Mack could get some shoes for his kids. Mack picked out five pairs of children sneakers, E. Bivins and I got more T-shirts then we headed to the register. As we stood at the register to make the purchase the scenario went down just as the previous two did. Swipe card, silence, and the receipt printed out.

While we were walking through the mall to the exit we started calculating how much we had spent in charges. We estimated that we spent a little over $1,800 and that confirmed that it was time to quit (remember, our spending limit was supposed to be the same amount as the cash withdraw). As we walked to our cars I handed Mack the debit card so he could prepare the hook-up for the next day.

All right, Mack said as we tossed our bags in the trunks. I’ll holler at ya’ll in the morning. Once E. Bivins and I left from the mall’s parking lot I asked him did he want to stop at the strip bar.

Hell yeah, he answered. I could get some lunch while we’re in there.

We went to All Stars, a topless bar on 8 Mile Rd, not too far from Northland Mall. Once we were inside the bar we sat at a booth that was at the end of the stage and next to some stairs that led up to the DJ’s booth. In order to occupy the booth there was a $20 charge that applied, and shortly after we sat down someone came to collect.

After the collection the waitress came over to take our order. She was around 5’4 and was a dark chocolate complexion looking girl. The uniform she had on was a white button up sleeveless shirt with the top three buttons unbuttoned. She had on some booty shorts, which was black, with black stockings and black high heels. She was sexy, even sexier than the two dancers that were on the stage and the additional ten dancers who were scattered throughout the bar.

What would you like to drink? she asked while standing in front of us.

E. Bivins’ favorite drink at the time was Remy Martin and Bailey’s on the rocks, so that’s what he ordered. I thought the drink was pretty good so I ordered one to. Then we asked the waitress for a menu because we wanted something to eat. We quickly glanced through the menu then I ordered a steak and baked potato. E. Bivins ordered a Philly steak and cheese sandwich. When she walked away to get our drinks we both watched her all the way to the bar and back.

After she brought the drinks a dancer sat down next to me.

Hey, what’s your name? she asked.

My name is E, I answered.

Hey E, I’m Angela. And what’s your boy’s name?

My name is E, he told her. She looked at us for a second then smiled.

Okay, E and E. Right then another dancer sat next to E. Bivins and they started a conversation.

We quickly finished the little ass drinks the waitress brought us then we signaled for her to bring us another round. Shortly after the next round our food arrived. We hurried through the food with the help of the two dancers then ordered more drinks. As soon as the table in our booth was clear of the empty plates, the dancers asked us if we wanted some dances. We both got around five dances at $10 apiece.

I finished my drink around the last dance and by that time I was kind of drunk. All during the dances I couldn’t keep my hands off the dancer’s body. I was grabbing, squeezing, and rubbing all that I could, but I had enough composure to realize I didn’t want to give that one dancer too much money. So at the end of what I thought was the fifth song I gave her $50. She took the $50 and thanked me. I looked over at E. Bivins and he was paying for his dances also. Shortly after the dances we decided to leave the bar and go back home.

As I walked in the side door my mother was sitting at the kitchen table watching television. I thought she was going to ask me where I got all the clothes from, but we didn’t say anything to each other. I went upstairs, dropped my bags on the floor, laid across the bed and fell into a deep sleep. When I opened my eyes it was late in the evening and dark outside. I called E. Bivins to make sure everything was all right for the next morning then relaxed for the rest of the night.

The next morning I got up at 9:00 A.M. and called E. Bivins to wake him up. He called Mack who supposedly said for us to meet him at the same time and place we met at yesterday.

9:30 A.M. came and we we’re there. The Belmont Plaza has a furniture store in it and that’s where we parked and waited. As we waited a white Cadillac slowly pulled next to us. I was figuring it was Mack but it wasn’t. I was kind of shocked to see that it was Bishop Duren, the religious leader of my church. He looked at me in recognition then I waved my hand at him and he waved back in response.

That’s my Bishop from my church, I told E. Bivins.

For real, he replied as I rolled down my window while Bishop Duren was rolling down his too.

Praise the Lord Bishop.

Praise the Lord, he responded then there was about five seconds of silence.

How are you? I asked.

I’m fine. Do you know what time this furniture store opens?

I think ten o’clock.

Do you work here? he asked after he stared at me for a moment.

No I don’t, I answered while shaking my head. He stared at me some more as if he wanted to ask, Well why are you just sitting there?

I need some new chairs and I thought this store would be open by now. Well, I’ll see you later.

Okay, see you later. He backed his car out of the parking space and pulled off.

Just as Bishop Duren was leaving Mack pulled in front of the car I was driving then rolled down his window.

What up? Mack asked.

You know that was Bishop Duren who just pulled off (our family grew up in the same church).

It was? Hell naw. Go over there and withdraw three thousand.

Damn, E. Bivins told me. I ain’t never got that much out at one time.

Mack drove off and headed for the same bank we went to the day before and I followed right behind him. Most religious people may have thought twice after one of their religious leaders pull up on them right before they were going to do something they knew wasn’t right. And actually, I did give it a thought, but the thought was over powered by my greed to go and get that $3,000.

After I parked the car I went inside the bank, filled out my withdrawal slip, then got in line. There were six people ahead of me that day, and when I finally arrived at the window I noticed that the teller was a man. I had never seen a male bank teller before. I gave him my ID and withdrawal slip then he started typing in my account information.

How would you like it? he asked me a moment later.

All hundreds please. He counted out thirty one hundred dollar bills then asked me if I needed a envelope?

No thank you, I answered. He placed my ID on top of the money and slid it to me.

Have a nice day, he told me.

I went to Mack’s car, sat down, pulled the money out of my pocket and handed it to him. He counted out $800 then handed it to me, and at that moment I was confused.

How am I getting paid the same amount as yesterday when today I withdrew almost double the amount? I asked.

Because, I have to pay somebody else with this money. I’m already paying you too much, I usually only pay people five hundred. He gave me another $200 then yelled, I don’t be paying people this much! I have to pay my mans who help me with this. I’m only doing this because you’re my cousin! I had a feeling he was lying to me but I was satisfied with the $1,000.

What mall are we going to today? I asked.

Let’s go to Eastland, he answered. I got in the car with E. Bivins, paid him my $300 taxes, then we headed to Eastland Mall.

Once we were in the mall we went straight into Foot Locker and quickly picked out two pairs of shoes each with the socks to match. I went to the counter to make the purchase and it was the same scenario: hand her the card and ID, swipe the card, then silence. That time the moment of silence was a little longer than usual. It took about an extra 30 seconds then the cashier looked at me. I’m sorry but your card was denied. In embarrassment I took my debit card back then we walked out the store.

Outside of Foot Locker I asked Mack what was wrong.

They’re not gonna let us shop today, he explained. But let’s try one more store for a small purchase and see what happen.

We went into a hat store and I grabbed the first two hats I saw then placed them on the counter. When the cashier rung up the two hats the total came out to be a little over $40. I gave her my debit card and ID then we waited for the results, denied again. We left the store and Mack told us it was over for shopping but it might be back on again the next day. So we all disappointedly got into our cars and left the mall.

Since we were disappointed about not being able to shop, E. Bivins and I decided to go back to All Stars and drown our sorrows. Plus at the same time have a little celebration for the money we had just made. And just as expected, the same people were in the bar as the day before. We sat at the same booth then came the same sexy waitress.

What’s up with ya’ll? she asked. Ya’ll need something to drink?

We ordered the same Remy and Bailey’s on the rocks, a smoked turkey sandwich, and a Philly cheese steak sandwich. The waitress left and returned with our drinks then she sat down next to me. There weren’t many customers in the bar at the time so she had nothing to do at that moment. We had a brief conversation about nothing then she was signaled by a dude at another booth for assistance. When she returned she brought our food with her and by that time we were finished with our drinks and ready for more. That’s when we noticed a clear bucket filled with ice and six beers sitting on the table across from us.

How much is that bucket of beer? I asked. She told me it was $30 so I ordered a bucket of Corona’s.

We sat there talking and drinking our beer when the same two dancers who danced for us the day before came over and sat with us again. By our third and last Corona’s we were just about drunk and wanted to get some dances. So I asked our waitress for some singles. E. Bivins and I both gave her a $100 bill and she brought us two stacks of singles. There was $100 in each stack and a white paper band wrapped around it that read $100 three times.

We got about six or seven dances from the same two dancers. As we were getting our last dance I looked over at E. Bivins and saw that he had given almost all his singles to that one dancer. He was holding about $12 in his hand and the rest of the singles were placed anywhere he could find a spot for them on the dancer’s body. I tapped him on the arm to get his attention.

E, that’s enough. Don’t give her all the damn singles. Let’s get ready to go. I paid for my dances and E. Bivins paid for his dances (again) and shortly after that we were gone.

When I arrived home I flopped down on my bed to get some rest then I thought to myself, I need to call Zeek and let him know I was doing the thing. So I picked up the phone and dialed Zeek’s number.

Hello, he answered.

What’s up Zeek? I asked.

What’s going on nigga?

All kinds of shit. You know I started doing that thing I was telling you about and it’s going good. You need to get your account open so you can get started.

I’m going to open my account tomorrow. It’s a checking account right?

Right, let me know when you open the account then I’ll put the word in to dude. And after that it’s on. I’ll talk to you later.

After I got off the phone with Zeek I just sat around doing nothing but thinking about the next morning which was my final day with the bank. I hoped everything went smooth, and I even went to bed early that night to shorten the process. Before I knew it morning had come and it was time to go out and do it again.

That morning I immediately got up, dressed myself then called E. Bivins to let him know I was ready. He didn’t answer his phone so I tried calling him about four more times and still there was no answer. I walked down to his house and knocked on the door and still no answer. It was 9:30 A.M. and the bank had just opened. I decided to call Mack to see if he was at our usual spot waiting but Mack didn’t answer either. I called the bank to check my balance and see if some money was there and if it was then I was going by myself to get it.

I got the bank’s 1-800 number out of my wallet, called, then followed the steps the automated system gave me in order to hear my balance. The system said, Your available balance is thirty three hundred dollars and zero cents. I instantly hung up and started walking to the bank that was around the corner.

When I arrived at the bank I couldn’t believe how crowded it was, plus it was Friday so what should I have expected. I made the withdrawal slip out for only $3,000. I didn’t want to take all the money out because on the previous two times I looked at my withdrawal receipt and both times there was at least $200 left in the account. I planned to keep the same strategy Mack followed.

After about twenty five minutes of standing in the slow line I finally reached a teller. The same male teller waited on me again, and again he asked me the same question after he typed in my account information.

How do you want it back sir?

All hundreds please. He counted the money out and asked me if I needed a envelope, and I gave him the same answer as the day before. No thank you.

Have a nice day, he told me after he slid me the money.

I walked out the bank and there was Mack, sitting in his car which was parked directly in front of the bank.

What up? he asked after I got in the car with him.

What’s up with you? Why didn’t you answer the phone this morning?

I got fucked up last night and it was hard for me to get up. Did you get the money?

Yeah, I took out three thousand.

When I told him I had the money he drove off headed for my house. When he turned onto my street I saw E. Bivins getting out of a cab in front of Low’s house.

Stop down there where E. Bivins is at. Once he parked in front of Low’s house I asked him, How much money am I getting paid today?

Man… I told you I was just doing that because you’re my cousin, but I got somebody else to pay. Take out twelve hundred and give me the rest. I took the money out of my pocket then started counting it.

Mack, I need a little more today. I missed out on my shopping yesterday and it don’t look like you’re thinking about going today either. I need to buy myself something and fix my car with this little bit of money and it’s not enough. I need about thirteen today.

All right get yourself thirteen out. I counted out $1,400 then handed him the rest. Then I asked him what was up with going shopping.

You can try it but I don’t think it’s going to work. He handed me my debit card then he started to count the money I had just given him. I opened the door and stepped out before I told him how much I took.

I got fourteen. I’ll holler at you in a minute, all right?

You took too much money man! You better be lucky! I’m only doing this shit because you’re my cousin!

Don’t worry about it you’ll make it back. Zeek is opening up his account today so that’s some more money for you. But you gotta throw me a cut. Mack turned his head as if he really didn’t care.

Holler at me in a minute! he told me then drove off.

I walked up Low’s driveway to talk to E. Bivins who was standing by the side door waiting for me.

How much did you get? he asked me.

I got fourteen and he acted like he didn’t want me to get that.

Damn! You got fourteen today! I ain’t never made that much in one day off this hook-up. Is we going shopping? I told him Mack said we could try but he didn’t think it was going to work. Fuck it. I just came back to the block to see what was up with the money. Can I get that money? I gave him his $300 then he told me he was about to leave.

I’ll talk to you later, but I’m still going to try to shop, I explained.

I went home to see if my mother was around but she wasn’t. She was gone in my father’s car so I had no car to drive myself to the mall in. I decided to walk around to the Belmont Plaza because they had just opened a new Foot Locker. Foot Locker had the new Rockports in and I had to get a pair because us Detroiter’s were in love with Rockports at the time.

When the cashier rung me up, the total came to somewhere around $109. I gave her my debit card and ID then waited for the response. About ten seconds later the credit card machine started singing its beautiful melody as it printed out the receipt. The cashier tore off the receipt and handed it to me. I then signed it, took my bag and headed back home.

During my walk home I was thinking, How am I going to get to the mall? I didn’t want to call Low because he would’ve been asking me to buy too much stuff for him. I thought, I should call Mack, but I’ll get a whole lot more if I go by myself. As I was still thinking of a way to get to the mall a guy who lived across the street from Low was driving towards me and I immediately flagged him down.

What’s up Freddy? I asked. If you drive me to the mall I’ll buy you a pair of shoes?

Hell yeah! Freddy yelled. Come on nigga, get in! I got in the car and told Freddy to drive me to Northland Mall.

When we arrived at the mall we first went into Van Dykes. I picked out a Pelle Pelle leather jacket, which was tan, trimmed in turquoise, and embroidered in orange. The price on the tag was $795.99 but since spring was not too far away they let me get for $595.99. I also grabbed a couple of Pelle Pelle T-shirts and a few pair of jeans. My total at the cash register came to around $950. I gave the cashier my debit card and the purchase went down with no problem.

Next was the shoe store, which was Sibley’s Shoes. I told Freddy he could have any pair of shoes he wanted so he walked over to the Kenneth Cole display and picked out a pair. Meanwhile, my attention was taken by a pair of Mark Buchanan Pelle Pelle loafers. They were the same color as the jacket I had just bought so I had to get a pair. My first intention was not to get anymore shoes, but when I saw those they were a must have. The two pair of shoes came to a total of $290 so I purchased them then we walked around the mall looking for